While netizens keenly wait for the next season of ‘Money Heist’, it won’t be shocking if Netflix releases a new original – ‘Crypto Heist’ – a story based on true events. In what might be the biggest-ever crypto heist, two South African brothers vanished in thin air with US$ 3.6 billion worth of Bitcoin by conning investors through their startup Africrypt, in April 2021.
Africrypt, an investment company was founded in 2019 by Ameer and Raees Cajee. Investors were obviously happy with the startup as they earned bumper returns over time. When bitcoin was skyrocketing to a record in April, the founders were investing in crypto also for clients.
But what came as a sudden shock to the investors was when the Africrypt COO Ameer Cajee informed clients that the company was hacked. The employees lost access to the back-end platforms 7 days before the alleged hack. And what was even more fishy was that Ameer asked clients not to report this to any govt. authorities as it might just slow down the recovery process. Obviously, the investors got skeptical and didn’t stay quiet as asked. They roped in a law firm called Hanekom Attorneys, who focus on all aspects of the cryptocurrency industry and advise large-volume traders, exchanges and arbitrage companies. The firm got suspicious that something didn’t add up as the COO particularly asked the clients not to inform anyone. Soon they started an investigation.
They found out that Africrypt’s pooled funds and the clients’ coins that were pooled with other bitcoin transactions, had been transferred out of South Africa in an untraceable way. And then what, the founders were nowhere to be found. The clients called them but it just went to voicemails and the company website was also down. The founders are untraceable right now.
Even though South Africa’s Finance Sector Conduct Authority is currently investigating the matter, launching a formal investigation may not be possible as crypto assets are not yet legally considered financial products in South Africa. What a great plan!
This new world of cryptocurrency might seem very lucrative, but it is equally dangerous as well. With a single tweet determining the booms and busts in this market, investors are literally betting on their luck. And as an icing on the cake, we now have intrepid Bitcoin heists to watch out for in this decentralized currency landscape. The crypto market may be unstable, but if you’re not careful, your entire wallet can be taken in an instant as well.
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